Improvement in manure-hook or drag



H. GROSS.

Manure Drag.

,Patehted May 25,1869.

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HENRY GROSS, OF lVIIDDLETOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

Letters Patent No. 90,527, dated .May 25, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN MANURE-HOOK OR DRAG.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY Gnoss, of Middletown, in the county of Dauphin, and State of Pennsylvania,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in. .Mannre-Hooks, or Drags; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawing, and'to the letters of reference marked thereon, making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a top view of the hook, or drag.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view.

Figure 3 is an end view.

Each figure clearly shows the operating-mechanism, blue representing the position of the various features when in operation, while in red is shown the position of the same when the load is to be dropped, or the tine-shaft left to swing free, for the purpose of transportation.

The nature of my invention consists in securing to the main beam of a manure-drag, a lock, or latch, yoke, or staple, so arranged that it will engage with a springlcver, attached to the pivoted handles, by means of which the tine-shaft can be firmly held in position, to collect the manure, the whole being so combined witlra ratchet-arm that the shaft can instantly be freed, and the load dropped at pleasure.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the main beam, which may be constructed of wood, or any other suitable material.

To this main beam A, 1 secure'a lock, or latch, yoke, or staple, B. This yoke, or staple is made of metal, and'is provided with a latch, or recess, b, in which engages a spring-lever.

O O are the handles, and are constructed of wood, or other suitable material, and in the usual form.

These handles are bolted, or otherwise secured on opposite sides of the main beam A, as shown at a a. They are so secured as to allow of the utmost freedom of movement, and are united near their upper section by means of a brace-rod, c.

On the under surface of the lower section of the arms (3 O are V- shaped recesses c c, in which lit the ears of the tine-shaft, and by means of which the same is held in position, to collect the manure.

On one of the handles 0 there is a staple, or eye, (I, in which is firmly bolted one end of the spring-lever arm 1).

The other end of the lever is left free, and works in an eye, or staple, d, on the opposite handle 0.

The width of the staple, or eye d is greater than that of (I, in order to allow free play to the spring E whose free end rests in the same.

The other end of the spring E is firmly secured to the upper surface of the lever D, as shown at e,"fig. 1.

F is a ratchet-arm, one end of which is firmly secured to the under surface of the lever E, the other end terminating in a loop, or hoop-handle, f.

On the handle 0 is aneye, or loop, j", through which the arm 1 passes, said eye or staple serving as a guide.

On the under surface of the arm F is a series of ratchet-teeth, G, which engage with a pin, g, on the handle 0', as clearly shown in fig. 2. p

H is the tine-shaft, and is provided with four or more tines, h h.

This tine-shaft is alsoprovided with ears, or flanges h h, which enter the V-shaped recesses c c, of the handles 0 O, and by means of which the shaft is held in position to collect the manure.-

This shaft H works freely in'the bearing-plates I I, secured on the under surface of the beam A.

The lower plate I is provided with lips, or flanges M, on which the ears h it rest when the shaft and tines are in the position shown in red in the drawing.

The operation is as follows:

The book, or drag is in the position shown in blue in the drawing, in which condition it is ready to have the draught applied, and to collect the manure.

It will be seen thatthe' shaft H is held in position by means of the cars h h entering the V- shaped recesses c c of the handles 0 O. The handles are firmly locked by means of the spring-lever D resting against the latch, or shoulder b, of the yoke, or staple B. All possibility of thehandles moving is securely guarded against, in consequence of the pressure of the spring E on the lever D.

So soon as a sufiicient load is collected, and it is desirable to drop the same, simply by pulling the handle F, and causing one of the teeth of the plate G, to engage with the ratchet-pin g,the' lever D is entirely freed from the latch, or recess b of the yoke, or staple B, which enables the handles to be readily elevated, consequently freeing the cars It" h of the shaft H, from the recesses c c of the handles 0 (3, when the least draught on the drag will throw the tines in the position shown in red.- The load will consequently be dropped,

- when the tines can be returned to the position to collectw another load, or left free to drag after the beam Having thus fully described my invention, What I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. The yoke, or staple B, having a recess, 7), when the same is in combination with the lever D, spring- E, and ratchet-arm F, substantially as described, as

and for the purpose specified.

2.. The tine-shaft H, having cars It 71., when the same is in combination with the handles 0 G, having recesses c c, substantially as described, as and for the purpose specified.

3 The combination of the handles 0 G, yoke, or staple B, lever D, spring E, arm F, and shaft H, when the whole is so arranged as to operate substantially as described, as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specificatiomin the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY GROSS.

\Vitnesses HENRY STEHMAN, ANNIE E. BELL. 

